Market Chickens as a Source of Antibiotic-Resistant Escherichia coli in a Peri-Urban Community in Lima, Peru.

The widespread and poorly regulated use of antibiotics in animal production in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) is increasingly associated with the emergence and dissemination of antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs) in retail animal products. Here, we compared Escherichia coli from chickens and humans with varying levels of exposure to chicken meat in a low-income community in the southern outskirts of Lima, Peru. We hypothesize that current practices in local poultry production result in highly resistant commensal bacteria in chickens that can potentially colonize the human gut. E. coli was isolated from cloacal swabs of non-organic (n = 41) and organic chickens (n = 20), as well as from stools of market chicken vendors (n = 23), non-vendors (n = 48), and babies (n = 60). 315 E. coli isolates from humans (n = 150) and chickens (n = 165) were identified, with chickens showing higher rates of multidrug-resistant and extended-spectrum beta-lactamase phenotypes. Non-organic chicken isolates were more resistant to most antibiotics tested than human isolates, while organic chicken isolates were susceptible to most antibiotics. Whole-genome sequencing of 118 isolates identified shared phylogroups between human and animal populations and 604 ARG hits across genomes. Resistance to florfenicol (an antibiotic commonly used as a growth promoter in poultry but not approved for human use) was higher in chicken vendors compared to other human groups. Isolates from non-organic chickens contained genes conferring resistance to clinically relevant antibiotics, including mcr-1 for colistin resistance, blaCTX-M ESBLs, and blaKPC-3 carbapenemase. Our findings suggest that E. coli strains from market chickens are a potential source of ARGs that can be transmitted to human commensals.

From the Andes to the desert: 16S rRNA metabarcoding characterization of aquatic bacterial communities in the Rimac river, the main source of water for Lima, Peru.

The Rimac river is the main source of water for Lima, Peru's capital megacity. The river is constantly affected by different types of contamination including mine tailings in the Andes and urban sewage in the metropolitan area. In this work, we aim to produce the first characterization of aquatic bacterial communities in the Rimac river using a 16S rRNA metabarcoding approach which would be useful to identify bacterial diversity and potential understudied pathogens. We report a lower diversity in bacterial communities from the Lower Rimac (Metropolitan zone) in comparison to other sub-basins. Samples were generally grouped according to their geographical location. Bacterial classes Alphaproteobacteria, Bacteroidia, Campylobacteria, Fusobacteriia, and Gammaproteobacteria were the most frequent along the river. Arcobacter cryaerophilus (Campylobacteria) was the most frequent species in the Lower Rimac while Flavobacterium succinicans (Bacteroidia) and Hypnocyclicus (Fusobacteriia) were the most predominant in the Upper Rimac. Predicted metabolic functions in the microbiota include bacterial motility and quorum sensing. Additional metabolomic analyses showed the presence of some insecticides and herbicides in the Parac-Upper Rimac and Santa Eulalia-Parac sub-basins. The dominance in the Metropolitan area of Arcobacter cryaerophilus, an emergent pathogen associated with fecal contamination and antibiotic multiresistance, that is not usually reported in traditional microbiological quality assessments, highlights the necessity to apply next-generation sequencing tools to improve pathogen surveillance. We believe that our study will encourage the integration of omics sciences in Peru and its application on current environmental and public health issues.

4th ISCB Latin American Student Council Symposium: a virtual and inclusive experience during COVID-19 times.

Since 2014, the ISCB Latin American Student Council Symposium (LA-SCS) serves as the main biannual activity where students from all levels, postdocs and early researchers from the entire Latin American region can gather to discuss recent advances in the fields of bioinformatics and computational biology. This time we faced a major unexpected obstacle, a worldwide pandemic that has completely disrupted human activities at a planetary scale. Countless conferences have been either canceled, reprogrammed for the next year or moved to a virtual format. However, thanks to an important strengthening of the Latin American student network and the creation of several new RSGs in the continent, we were able to get together a fearless team that aimed to overcome the pandemic obstacles and still organise the 4th LA-SCS. Here we summarize our experiences in our first virtual symposium.

Data mining of DNA sequences submitted by Peruvian institutions to public genetic databases / Minería de datos de secuencias de DNA enviadas a bases de datos genéticas públicas por instituciones peruanas

Abstract Genetic diversity is an important component of biodiversity, and it is crucial for current efforts to protect and sustainably manage several organisms and habitats. As far as we know, there is only one work describing Peruvian genetic information stored in public databases. We aimed to update this previous work searching in four public databases that stored digital sequence information: Nucleotide, BioProject, PATRIC, BOLD. With this information, we comment on the contribution of Peruvian institutions during recent years. In Nucleotide, the largest database, Bacteria are the most sequenced organisms by Peruvian institutions (70.60%), pathogenic bacteria such as Pasteurella multocida, Neisseria meningitidis, and Vibrio parahaemolyticus were the most abundant. We found no sequence records from the Archaea domain. In BioProject, the most common sequence belongs to Salmonella enterica subsp. enterica serovar Infantis. In PATRIC, a database of pathogenic agents, Mycobacterium tuberculosis and Yersinia pestis had the highest number of entries. Finally, in BOLD, an exclusively Eukaryotic database, Chordata (Aves and Actinopterygii), Angiospermae, and Arthropoda (Insecta, and Arachnida) were the most frequent records. Our results would indicate research preferences of Peruvian institutions, focusing on infectious diseases and some Eukaryotic phyla. Although there has been a significant increase of DNA information submitted by Peruvian institutions since the last report, the genetic diversity reflected in these databases remains inconsistent with the diversity in the country. More efforts must be made to obtain genetic information from more underestimated taxonomic groups and to promote more genetic research in regional Peruvian institutions.

Resumen La diversidad genética es una componente importante de la biodiversidad y es crucial para los esfuerzos actuales de proteger y gestionar de manera sostenible varios organismos y hábitats. Hasta donde sabemos, solo hay un trabajo que describe la información genética peruana almacenada en bases de datos públicas. Nuestro objetivo fue actualizar este trabajo previo buscando en cuatro bases de datos públicas que almacenaban información de secuencias digitales: Nucleotide, BioProject, PATRIC, BOLD. Con esta información analizamos la contribución de las instituciones peruanas durante los últimos años. En Nucleotide, la base de datos más grande, las bacterias fueron los organismos más secuenciados por las instituciones peruanas (70.60%), las bacterias patógenas como Pasteurella multocida, Neisseria meningitidis y Vibrio parahaemolyticus fueron las más abundantes. No encontramos registros de secuencias del dominio Archaea. En BioProject, la secuencia más común pertenece a Salmonella enterica subsp. enterica serovar Infantis. En PATRIC, una base de datos de agentes patógenos, Mycobacterium tuberculosis y Yersinia pestis tuvieron el mayor número de entradas. Finalmente, en BOLD, una base de datos exclusivamente eucariota, Chordata (Aves y Actinopterygii), Angiospermae y Arthropoda (Insecta y Arachnida) fueron los registros más frecuentes. Nuestros resultados indicarían las preferencias de investigación de las instituciones peruanas, centrándose en enfermedades infecciosas y algunos filos eucariotas. Aunque ha habido un aumento significativo de la información de ADN enviada por las instituciones peruanas desde el último informe, la diversidad genética reflejada en estas bases de datos sigue siendo inconsistente con la diversidad del país. Se deben realizar más esfuerzos para obtener información genética de grupos taxonómicos más subestimados y promover más investigación genética en las instituciones regionales peruanas.